The Birds of the Birds & the Bees

This nest of barn swallows was under the deck of the house. As my sister-in-law got closer and closer to the nest while painting, momma & poppa bird got a wee bit nervous, flying under the deck near her. There wasn't an attack, but the babies kept an eye on her, too.

 They still have some of their downy feathers. The babies 'flew the coop' the following morning.

Roses

My sister-in-law has a lovely rose bush in the back yard. While taking a break from 'work' I noticed a little activity going on in the roses...

 You can almost smell the roses, can't you?

 What a pretty pink!

There's the little fellow doing his job!

Book Signing

Smokin' Seventeen by Janet Evanovich was released on Tuesday of this week.
She, Janet, doesn't do many book signings, but for this book she signed in
Princeton NJ on Tuesday until after 1:30 AM. She was then scheduled for
Edina MN on Thursday. We got to Minneapolis on Wednesday evening so I
could get to Barnes & Noble on Thursday morning for the wrist bands &
numbers for our 'place' in line on Thursday evening. B&N opened at 9:00 AM.
People started lining up at 7:00 AM. When I got there at 9:30, no line. I
walked right in, got my three bands with numbers 311, 312 & 313,
and an approximate time for our signing...9:00 PM.

 So we planned dinner in the area and a little shopping.

This is the beginning of the line for numbers 300-399.

Janet Evanovich signing a copy of Smokin' Seventeen

Does she look tired? Here's her schedule...
Tuesday signing in Princeton NJ. She signed until 1:30 AM.
I learned she stays and signs for everyone in line. The line
in Edina went into the 900s. She was a wee bit behind schedule
for our numbers, so the last signings could have taken place
around 3 or 4 in the morning. We overheard B&N would lock their
doors at 10:00 PM. People needed to be in the store by that time to
have their books autographed. Janet Evanovich was signing
books in Frisco TX on Friday and Ft. Myers FL on Saturday. And
that is the only promoting for this book. Four cities; four dates.

Now you understand why she looks tired. The woman did not say
a word to any of the three of us, just smiled for the photo,
signed her name, and did it all over again for the next
600 people Thursday night.

But I have an autographed copied by the author and a photo
to show I was there!
#18 comes out in November. Movie in January in AZ!

Playing in the Backyard

Mommy & Daddy playing with Willa on Sunday afternoon

 walking in the grass

(you can understand why Willa has such cute facial expressions!)

 playing with mommy

 getting dizzy with daddy

 human swing

Willa sandwich kisses

Lunch with Willa

Willa's lunch on Father's Day

 chickpea nuggets, whole wheat macaroni, steamed zucchini

 she ate the chickpea nuggets first

(there is still one on her tray)

 then she ate the macaroni

and she saved the zucchini 'til last, 

but she did eat it, all of it.

It was funny as she tried to drop zucchini pieces

down the front of her bib and the side of her

chair. I'd retrieve the pieces, but them in her mouth

and she'd eat them. It got to be a game. 

Fun for both of us!

Father's Day

We had a wonderful Father's Day with our son 

and his family.

Our three generations

 Willa chillin' with Daddy

 walkin' in the grass with her crocs

Thanks, Kids!

An Awesome Sunset

One of the things I miss about AZ is the sunsets.

But I got to witness a spectacular display last evening.

It was a warm humid day with a short strong

rainstorm around 6:00 pm.

I didn't look for rainbows, but I did get to see this...

This was the sky color we noticed from our house.

I grabbed the camera, my purse and jumped in

the car and headed for St. Ann's Hill.

 The dark clouds and golden skyline

 Just look at all the colors and the layers of clouds!

 Beautiful!

What an awesome display!

More Willa Weekend

Here are a few more Willa photos from last weekend.

 something on TV caught her attention

 OK. I'm looking at you, Grandma

 See my four bottom teeth? and the white bulge on the left?

and you wonder why I'm crabby? and sleepy?

But mostly, I'm still a little sweetie pie!

The Weekend with Willa

Curt offered to add some boards to the top of the pergola for C & K and to build some storage shelves in the garage.

 Curt doing his thing

 his buddy waiting for some 'bonding' time

 Willa chillin' in her swing

 just relaxin'

 telling a story

push, grandma!

The Mighty Mo

Traveling from the east side of the state to the west, we cross the Missouri River somewhere around the middle of the state. On this trip crossing at Pierre was not possible. Pierre was closed to through traffic. The towns of Pierre & Ft. Pierre were preparing for flooding due to all the water being released by the Army Corps of Engineers at the dams in Pierre & Bismarck to alleviate the the high level of the Missouri River father upstream, beginning in Montana. So last week we crossed the river at Chamberlain. We stopped at the visitor's center on top of the hill overlooking the river. I wanted to document the level of the river knowing that a week later, it would be higher.

 This is the I 90 bridge. We thought the water was 

quite high near the center of the river.

Wonder what it will look like on Wednesday?

 This is two of the three bridges crossing the Mighty Mo at Chamberlain.

 The stone teepees are at rest stops along I 90.

 This  rest stop & visitor center commemorates

the trips of Lewis & Clark who stopped here on their

exploration trip of the Louisiana Purchase.

 This is a replica of the keel boat used by Lewis & Clark as

they traveled along the Missouri River.

I had no idea the keel boat was this large.

I guess I thought they used canoes, only.

It was worth the stop.

Crazy Horse Volksmarch 2011

It was a beautiful day for the 10K

Crazy Horse Volksmarch on Saturday

 registration at 10:00

well organized & efficient

 last minute potty stop

the goal

waiting for our walking mates

 just around the corner

 one more hill

 the Watertown group

some of them have done the walk 

for 11 consecutive years

 he did it

 this is the area where more work is being done

good-bye 'til next year